Police have week of violent encounters

A deadly week in the Puget Sound area continued Saturday with the death of a 25-year-old Sultan man in a confrontation with Snohomish County sheriff's deputies.

The early-morning incident was the sixth violent encounter for police in as many days; two were in Pierce County.

Two deputies responded to a call Saturday about a man causing a disturbance in Gold Bar, about 25 miles east of Everett, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. When they arrived, they were confronted by a man who charged them and fought them to the ground, the office said in a news release.

After one of the deputies used his stun gun on the man, the officers discovered he was not breathing and immediately started CPR. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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The man’s name was not immediately released. Investigators were trying to determine what caused his behavior. The deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave, standard in such incidents, a spokesperson said.

On Friday night, Seattle police shot and wounded a 59-year-old man they say had leveled a rifle at them.

Deputy Chief Nick Metz said that when the man, who had been described as suicidal, came out from a West Seattle house, he had what appeared to be an assault rifle. The man pointed the weapon and three officers fired, Metz said.

The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Police said he was in stable condition.

Earlier Friday, Tacoma police fatally shot a man at a bus stop. Police Chief Don Ramsdell said the man was waving a knife, ignored officers’ commands to drop it and raised it in a “threatening gesture.”

On Tuesday, Federal Way police fatally shot David Charles Young, 23, who was driving a stolen truck and reportedly tried to run down an officer who approached him.

Also Tuesday, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies used a stun gun on a 27-year-old man who reportedly was causing a disturbance at a Spanaway apartment complex. A few minutes later, deputies noticed the man was having trouble breathing. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

On Monday, a Seattle police officer fatally shot John T. Williams, 50, a First Nations totem carver, in downtown Seattle. Officer Ian Birk saw Williams with a knife and repeatedly ordered him to drop it before shooting, reports said.